Poem/Prayer for Worship
by Thom Shuman

motley crew

   what a motley crew
   to welcome you into the world!

   a horse stamping its feet
       to keep warm;
   a cow murmuring
       because you've disturbed her calf;
   a dog whimpering and twitching,
       chasing, in his dreams,
   the cat in the corner of the barn,
   who stares wondering
   what all the fuss is about.

(of course, it's no surprise
they are there, at that moment:
since they sprang from this Child's imagination
               at creation's birth)

       and then the folks
       who show up from
       Bethlehem's welcome wagon?

   loners
       (why else do they spend their nights
           on cold, rocky hillsides);
   introverts
       (who else enjoys a job where
           you never meet another person);
   the strong, silent type
       (why else would would they want to spend
           all their time with sheep?!?)

       and yet, there they go:
           running and grabbing everyone
           like they are best friends,
       almost shouting:

"You won't believe who we just met!"   

(c) 2006  Thom M. Shuman 

(Comments to Thom at tmshuman@fuse.net.)

http://www.occasionalsightings.blogspot.com
Greenhills Community Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio